Blue Mage is 75% completed. Flavor-ish text needs to be added, and some balance afterthought and critical thinking needs to be applied. It's kind of cheating, because the main burden of the class is on the DM who has one in his game, so there's no spell list to create or anything.

Bard is 25% complete. The class has absolutely no pretty text and I'd like to work in about 4 or 5 more songs, mostly offensive. The class abilities are declared, but their actual mechanics and at what levels they get everything aren't cemented yet. The bulk of the brain-storming work is done, now comes double re-thinking everything. I also don't know what to call the prestige 10 levels yet. It's really hard to make a faggy bard sound cool, heh.

I'm starting to think that my craft (alch) points are kind of a waste.  A black mage has everything to gain from using it, INT as casting stat, not really 2 statted like WHM with WIS/CHA, etc.  Black mages also have the spells that would be really useful for it (RDM might have some useful ones, phalanx/refresh) since they are not readily available at 1/4 the price at the shop.

The main reasons I wanted to take these was to make cure potions, but the shops sell them for almost what it would cost to make them.  Right now we have an excess in alchemical supplies, so no big issue, but spending 375GP to make a Cure II potion when you can buy one for 450GP without blowing valuable skill points and GP on labs seems silly.  That's not even mentioning the DC is 26, so even on the ship with max ranks and an INT of 14 (pretty good for WHM) I have about a +12, or 30% chance of actually succeeding on it (if the ship is still).

Also, it is impossible to make money with in any way.  The potions people want to buy are restorative, and the NPCs automatically sell/buy them at lower rates for parties that don't have WHM/RDM.  The other types of potions are, well, worthless apparently.

The ones I see being most effective are Blink at high levels, Vanish, and perhaps Veil in strange circumstances.  Bar-element would be, except that you choose the element at the time of production.  There are a few cases where this might be handy (Volcano, Ice Cave, Water adventures) but overall mostly not useful, a bar-elementra spell would be much more effective in most cases.  Protect/Shell might be good for parties that don't have a white mage, but parties that do have a white mage that's just silly.  If there's a one time thing where a person needs a potion of protect/shell he can have an NPC make it custom for him.  Aquaveil might be useful for a black mage.

In summary:
30% chance with the lab on the boat with max ranks and a decent INT to make a Cure II potion for 75GP less than I could buy it.  75GP might not be worth 8 skill points (2 entire levels worth for me), the GP spent on the labs (that we haven't really bought any of yet), and the ring that I bought specifically to give me time to craft.

I don't know, is there something I'm not seeing here?  Making Cure 1 potions is good, but if that's all the use I'm going to get out of it then I'll probably retrain as early as humanly possible.  Currently craft (alch) is the only skill I have maxed and it's starting to look like it was a very bad choice for a white mage.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:40, Wed 20 July 2011.

No crafting skill will ever make you money. Purge that thought from your mind.
No crafting skill will ever even really save you a bunch of money. Purge that thought from your mind.

And the Bar-element potion thing: Potions are nearly weightless. And half of the time the element that will be desired will be quite obvious, just like you mentioned. Protect/Shell and Veil being silly? Supreme MP savings. Also, you are level 5. You are poor and have 8 ranks into it, and don't have a way to magically improve your intelligence yet.

Remember, you can create more than just potions with craft (alchemy). And Remember, DAI took it as well so you can give each other +2 to your checks.

And finally, a level 1 Human Expert could have a higher bonus than you with the same Intelligence and same tools. You're not that devoted to it, or you would have taken SF(C:A) and Brew Potion.

And Craft (alchemy) does really shine best for parties without a White Mage, yes. The instant mileage you get out of Cure potions will last throughout the game. The fact that two of you took it, is, I'd imagine, not a common thing that will happen.

Is it geared more toward Black Mages? Well, no, not really. They have higher INT, so they are better at ALL crafting, not just craft (alchemy).

I just took the original craft (alchemy) skill and piled on a BUNCH of other uses for it mostly centered around making potions. If you don't think you like it, and won't get use out of it? Retrain it later.


Oh, by the way. Alchemy supplies weight 1lb per 50gp.

This kinda blows my mind.  This is the entire purpose behind crafting magical items.  If it's not going to save you money or make you money, why put points in it?

For craft (alch) it doesn't bother me that we're not making money, but not really saving money (especially when considering the opportunity cost of skill points) kind of defeats the purpose.  I didn't say Veil was silly, it was listed as one of the more plausible uses.  Protect and Shell are essentially worthless as potions if you have a WHM.  Supreme MP savings?  To get useful levels of AC and Saves out of them they have to be incredibly expensive, and they only affect 1 person vs. the WHM AoE spells.

I think if I was a red mage I would take this stuff.  I was planning on taking brew potion next level, but I think I'd rather forego the retraining feats that I was going to do and move skill points out of craft alchemy as quickly as possible.  I was hoping I was simply not seeing better uses for it but apparently it's just not worth it as a white mage IMO.  I could just buy the ones I was going to make with a few small exceptions, and those could be purchased custom made (which implies more expensive, but really, I just got offered 50GP which is the same price as a cure potion for 3 minutes of Aquaveil).  If for some reason those potions are 30k then oh well fuck it.

I'm not really critiquing the system per say as making a note.  I can't foresee enough use for white mage potions to expend crucial skill points, feats, and GP.  The reason I said Black Mage might be better (besides their obviously better modifiers) is because of the Black Mage spell list.  Elemental armor/spikes/haste sound pretty awesome.  Red Mage sounds equally interesting (I think, not very read up on them in this game) if things like phalanx and refresh can be made into potions.

D&D v3.5 Tumbling rules:

Tumbling requires double movement cost to perform. When tumbling through (which basically means out of) an enemy's threatened space, you can choose to tumble to avoid attacks of opportunity. In many cases when fighting normal-sized creatures, this is only one square, yes. (Fig 1.) But if you're fighting a bigger creature with reach you may have to tumble for many, many squares. (Fig 2.)

Fig 1. Tumbling by a medium opponent with 5' reach.
.....
.4...
..3..
.E.2.
....1
The first square of movement from 1 to 2 costs 5' as per normal for diagonal movement. The second move into E's threatened space costs 10' as per normal diagonal movement. When entering a threatened area you do not provoke, only when leaving. To leave E's threatened area without provoking an attack of opportunity, you must tumble. Tumbling costs double movement, which is always 15' of movement when tumbling diagonally. Total movespeed consumed for this turn: 30'.

Fig 2. Tumbling by a Large opponent with 10' reach.

.....8
.....7
.....6
..EE.5
..EE.4
.....3
.....2
.....1

Moving from 1 to 2 puts you inside of E's threatened area. It costs 5' of movement. Once inside, you must tumble every square you leave inside of E's threatened area. From 2 to 3, 3 to 4, and so on. Moving from 7 to 8 is the last square you'd have to tumble. All in all, this movement requires 75' of move speed to complete.

Keep in mind, especially later in the game, that you have the option to do an accelerated tumble. You take a -10 penalty to your check but can move at full speed. Even if you only have a small chance of this, and you have to move anyway, you may as well try because there is no penalty for failing. You simply have a chance to avoid the AoO where you otherwise would not. When tumbling at full speed in a straight line, I also allow you to take the Charge action.

This will be moved to the Mechanics discussion at a later time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:59, Tue 25 Oct 2011.

Job-specific spells being crafted into potions now only doubles the price of the potion, not quadruple it. The main post describing the system has been updated accordingly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:21, Thu 08 Mar 2012.

I just realized I never included the part of the text that mattered for the Jack of All Trades ability Red Mages get at level 8.

They gain Open Minded for free, and the skill points gained can be used for any skill, even cross-class ones.

The next time we get the PDFs out I'll delete this post.

Alright. This is now in effect, and I apologize but we've still not found a suitable replacement for wave so I can't give you updated PDFs.

We'll probably transfer most of this stuff to a forum so that it can be viewed by everyone in real-time.

The following changes affect all spell levels.

Aero damage dice reduced to d8's from d10's.
Stone damage dice reduced to d10's from d12's.

Water (d8), Thunder (d8), Blizzard (d8 -> d10), and Fire (d12) remain unchanged at this time.

We're not using the RAW Diplomacy and other social skill checks exactly. For Bluff, any time you're trying to conceal your words, leave out an important and major detail you would otherwise include in an honest response to a question, or flat out lie, it requires a Bluff check, in increasing difficulty. I am very liberal with bonuses for compelling arguments or how much of a bluff you're attempting to make.

TL;DR: You know when you're trying to say something sheisty. When you do this, roll a Bluff.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:26, Tue 06 Mar 2012.

As stated in the SRD, attacking objects with elemental energy has varying degrees of effectiveness:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/exploration.htm

For the new elements this system uses, in addition to the ones listed in the previous source, consult the following:

Energy damage types that deal full damage to objects:
Acid
Sonic

Note: both of these damage types are uncommon in this campaign setting, though are present.

Energy damage types that deal 1/2 damage to objects:
Fire
Lightning
Earth

Energy damage types that deal 1/4 damage to objects:
Ice
Wind
Water


edit-
I'll delete this post when we republish updated PDFs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:20, Thu 08 Mar 2012.

Well, yes, but that SRD also employs acid, sonic, and force damage, most of which are attainable at level 1. Also, all you need is a good night's sleep to get your spells back. The rules for objects taking reduced elemental damage uses a completely different system, one in which force damage and acid/sonic are relatively common.

I'm not saying change the system, but it is rather irritating that a level 2 fighter could hack away for a minute, expending no resources to break the chain, while a level 6 black mage who's only job is to destroy things with magic can expend several costly resources and still not break the chain. MP is a costly resource, bard songs notwithstanding.

He has a right to be irritated.

Sonic/Acid/Force still do not ignore hardness. I challenge you to find a level one spell in D&D that could break this chain reliably in few castings, let alone one.

Now, both systems have level 2 spells that could much more easily do it. (I'm looking at you, Fire and Shatter.)

Moreover, I challenge you to be able to cast 50+ level one spells in D&D by level 6. Yes, they are different systems, but yes, they are similar enough to where this particular rule-set is entirely justifiable, if not even more so.

And I'm not sure if DAI the player is annoyed, but I can absolutely understand how DAI the character is, and I applaud him role-playing accordingly.


One of you could bring out a crowbar or sword and go to town on the wooden trapdoor for a couple of minutes and obliterate it. DAI has 12 strength. 1d8+1 damage vs. an object with 5 hardness will get through it. It just takes time, and DAI might see that kind of action as beneath him, though I don't know. Also, ZEIG, white mages have proficiency with all hammers. You could have a warhammer in that backpack if you wanted. 1d8-1 would take a freaking while, but you could do it. That's just the drawback of being a weak-ass.

God forbid that the game (3.5 or this house-rule-laden version of it) have a niche for big stupid fighters that mages can't fill!


edit-
And let me say that the entire situation that sparked this discussion is incredibly humorous to me. It's just a damn wooden door with a chain put through the handle and something else below it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:45, Thu 08 Mar 2012.

Not against the fighters filling a niche that mages can't fill, but as we've been a mostly mage party, we encounter that particular niche quite often, say, the entire campaign, which is probably why it rubs a little raw. All I need is to be a halfling so I can't reach the top shelf either, ha.



Acid and sonic attacks do ignore hardness under this ruling, although I'm not sure why sonic does. Unless this is a terribly worded paragraph, which wouldn't surprise me, but how does acid not eat through something because it is too hard? It's a chemical reaction.

Fire, on average, will not break the chain in one hit.

As to why we didn't target the wooden door in the first place, well, I'm not so sure about that one.

Also, the 50+ level one spells by level 6 is balanced by the fact that MP is a valuable resource and meant to last over several days, rather than something gained back every day. This is waaaay better than vancian magic, which I kind of hate.

I like the system usually, it just blows my mind that the black mage can't reliably break a chain by level 6 without potentially using up 10% of his resources when he is supposed to be damage incarnate.

I was looking at that ruling on acid and sonic, and actually, they do not ignore hardness. The reason why it says anything about hardness for the others is that it needs to explicitly declare when you apply hardness, before or after the damage is halved or quartered, because that greatly influences how much total damage is dealt

Now, it is very possible to craft or find acids that are especially good or bad at harming particular materials. For instance, acid from a normal ooze doesn't affect metal at all, though it burns through flesh just fine. There are some obscure acids that don't have any effect on stone but do on metal.

As a DM, I would absolutely allow someone who put ranks into Craft (alchemy) to make an acid that would be specialized in eating through iron and steel, thus reducing or ignoring its hardness completely. This is even included in the text on the SRD, saying how certain situations may call for some attacks to be more effective than others.


And yeah, dude, the door is totally easier to break than the chain.


As for your last comment, yes, he is able to dish out extreme damage, especially to creatures with elemental weaknesses. The drawback is that he's on a resource-based allotment of said damage.

A chain is a relatively tiny thing. It cannot feel pain. It has no heart to stop. It has no blood to lose. Would a longsword to the throat of commoner that dealt 10 damage kill him? Fuck yeah, it'd cut him down to unconsciousness and then he'd quickly bleed to death. Would it phase a steel chain? Not in the slightest. Steel items are pretty damn hard to destroy with what are fairly low-powered gobs elemental energy.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:19, Thu 08 Mar 2012.

Inane question time!

Ostensibly, tumbling through a creatures square is more difficult than tumbling around because the enemy occupies said square, and as such there is less space. However, ghosts don't really fill up the square. Theoretically, I should be able to tumble through the ghost while avoiding his weapons (not that this is necessarily a good idea). Does this affect the DC?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:57, Fri 09 Mar 2012.

Ah... jesus christ. Ok.

The ghost is currently manifested. This makes it go from being ethereal to being incorporeal. It can still "touch" you and shit like that, though it cannot physically move you, nor can it grapple you, etc.

I am going to say that, yeah, you could try to do it. That being said, your character has no idea what being incorporeal even means, so even if it's possible, you'd try to to move through it's square as if it were solid, incurring the penalties.

edit-
There's probably a more detailed ruling on this somewhere, and I'll find it (especially since my RL group is about to walk into the square of ghosttownsville), but until you hear otherwise, assume you can tumble "through" ghosts.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:01, Fri 09 Mar 2012.

Craft (alchemy) and non-potion items.

The DC for creating a flask of acid is 15, as normal. It costs 10 gold and functions as the vanilla D&D item. (Note, it only costs 3 gold and 34 silver to create.)

Alchemist's Fire is also as it is in vanilla D&D (DC 20, 20gp)

There are also versions of the same process for ice, lightning, wind, earth, and water. I will describe those in the vendor list section.



Keep in mind that creating non-potion alchemical items can take several times longer than a day, and you may have to suspend your work while you move. Simultaneously, these items are also fairly cheap to produce.

Refer to this for mechanics:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/craft.htm

When you cast a spell or something similar, please list the little bits of information that are essential to what you're doing. This normally includes:
Save DC?
Additional Effects?
Caster Level if it's different than your level.


I did write 50%+ of the spells and 99% of the songs text, but I can't remember every little thing. You guys know what your spells do, save the poor DM some time and tell me, too.


And as always, don't forget the effect the day has on your spells~

And here is the first time you guys fought some giants.



And if you want to know what this actually looks like:

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D9<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D10<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D11<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  D12<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D13<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D14<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D15<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D16<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D17<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  D18<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  D19<td><tt>33</tt></td>  D20<td><tt>33</tt></td>  D21<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D22<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D23<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  D24<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  D25<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  D26<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D27<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D28<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D29<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D30<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D31<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  D32<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  D33<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  D34<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D35<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D37<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D38<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  D39<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  </tr><tr><th><tt><b>E</b></tt></th>E2<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E3<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E4<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E5<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E6<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E7<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E8<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E9<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E10<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E11<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E12<td><tt>44</tt></td>  E13<td><tt>44</tt></td>  E14<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E15<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E16<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E17<td><tt>ZZ</tt></td>  E18<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E19<td><tt>33</tt></td>  E20<td><tt>33</tt></td>  E21<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E22<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E23<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E24<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E25<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E26<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E27<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E28<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E29<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E30<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E31<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E32<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E33<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E34<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E35<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E37<td><tt>..</tt></td>  E38<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  E39<td><tt>..</tt></td>  </tr><tr><th><tt><b>F</b></tt></th>F2<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F3<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F4<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F5<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F6<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F7<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F8<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F9<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F10<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F11<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F12<td><tt>44</tt></td>  F13<td><tt>44</tt></td>  F14<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F15<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F16<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F17<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F18<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F19<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F20<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F21<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F22<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F23<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F24<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F25<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F26<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F27<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F28<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F29<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F30<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F31<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F32<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F33<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F34<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F35<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F37<td><tt>..</tt></td>  F38<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  F39<td><tt>..</tt></td>  </tr><tr><th><tt><b>G</b></tt></th>G2<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G3<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G4<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G5<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G6<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G7<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G8<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G9<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G10<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G11<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  G12<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  G13<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G14<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G15<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G16<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G17<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G18<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G19<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G20<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G21<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  G22<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  G23<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G24<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G25<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G26<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G27<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G28<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G29<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  G30<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  G31<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G32<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G33<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G34<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G35<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G37<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  G38<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  G39<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  </tr><tr><th><tt><b>H</b></tt></th>H2<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H3<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H4<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H5<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H6<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H7<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H8<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H9<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H10<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H11<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H12<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H13<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H14<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H15<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H16<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H17<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H18<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H19<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H20<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H21<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H22<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H23<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H24<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H25<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H26<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H27<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H28<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H29<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H30<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  H31<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H32<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H33<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H34<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  H35<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  H36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H37<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H38<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  H39<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  </tr><tr><th><tt><b>I</b></tt></th>I2<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I3<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I4<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I5<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I6<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I7<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I8<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I9<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  I10<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  I11<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I12<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I13<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I14<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  I15<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I16<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I17<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  I18<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  I19<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I20<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I21<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I22<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I23<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I24<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I25<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I26<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I27<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I28<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I29<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I30<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I31<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I32<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I33<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I34<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  I35<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  I36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I37<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I38<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  I39<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  </tr><tr><th><tt><b>J</b></tt></th>J2<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J3<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J4<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J5<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J6<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J7<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J8<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J9<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  J10<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  J11<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J12<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J13<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J14<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J15<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J16<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J17<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J18<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J19<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J20<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J21<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J22<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J23<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J24<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J25<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J26<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  J27<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  J28<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  J29<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J30<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J31<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J32<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J33<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J34<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J35<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J37<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J38<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  J39<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  </tr><tr><th><tt><b>K</b></tt></th>K2<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K3<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K4<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  K5<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  K6<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K7<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K8<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K9<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K10<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K11<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K12<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K13<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K14<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K15<td><tt>RR</tt></td>  K16<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K17<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K18<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K19<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K20<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K21<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K22<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K23<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K24<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K25<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K26<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K27<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  K28<td><tt>TT</tt></td>  K29<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K30<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K31<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K32<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K33<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K34<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K35<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K36<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K37<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K38<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  K39<td><tt>,,</tt></td>  </tr></table>
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:20, Wed 09 May 2012.

Putting this here so I have it for tomorrow.


#!/usr/bin/env ruby

TOP_LEFT_TWO_CHARS = '--'

file = File.new('map.txt', 'r')

raw_lines = []
line_counter = 1

while (line = file.gets)
  raw_lines << line
  puts "#{line_counter}: #{line}"
  line_counter = line_counter + 1
end

file.close

# determine table dimensions
width = 0
raw_lines.each do |line|
  width = line.length if line.length > width
end
width = width - 1

height = raw_lines.count

#build the damn table
output = '<table>'

#first row, the column labels
output << "<tr><th><tt>#{TOP_LEFT_TWO_CHARS}</tt></th>"
width.times do |counter|
  output << "<th><tt>#{counter % 100}</tt></th>"
end
output << "</tr>"

# each subsequent row
row_label = 'A'
raw_lines.each do |line|
  output << "<tr><th><tt><b>#{row_label}</b></tt></th>"
  row = line.chop.split(//)
  counter = 1
  row.each do |char|
    counter = counter + 1
    output << "#{row_label}#{counter}<td><tt>#{char}#{char}</tt></td>  "
  end
  output << '</tr>'
  row_label.next!
end

output << '</table>'

file = File.new('map_table.txt', 'w')
file << output
file.close

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:20, Wed 09 May 2012.

Ive spent the most time with the fighter since I started looking at this game. I generally love the class and when I first read it the ability Gaurd and Improved Gaurd made me Giddy however after reviewing the mechanics of the fighter I find the abilities to be problematic and almost to the counter theme of the class as a whole. I could attack them mechanically but thats not as important you cant balance one feature with all the others.


First an exert on the pros of the fighter:


Alright so the crux of my flavor issue here is the fact this works only on total defense. Which removes the fighers ability to control the battlefield he loses that entire ability. The fighter to me feels like the defencive tank that keeps swinging playing tit for tat and winning because he can hit you but you cant hit him.  Total defense means all the fighter is doing is weathering attacks not fighting back.

Mechanically I could see two ways to do this. The easiest one would be:
[Shield] you gain the benefits of combat expertise. If you already have the feat combat expertise remove the cap on the attack penalty becomes BAB. (only if equipped with a shield do these work)

The 2nd would involve giving a bonus for total defense and a bonus for fighting defensively balancing them out would be difficult.

This is my theoretical response and I'm fine with things the way they are this is a play test so I figured I would weigh in on it. Ill do other classes if I feel inclined to read them in greater detail.

I'm not sure I understand what your issue is with it.

Guard gives +2 to shield bonus to AC in full defense, if you take full defense you lose the ability to control the battlefield in that you lose AoO. That's the crux of my issue.

So don't use it.

I probably wont use it. I think its a class feature that doesn't fit the class. IMO the class seems to focus on being able to attack not losing all ability to attack for defense. That might be a knight thing but not a fighter thing.